With all the swine flu hysteria, I figured we might as well join the conversation. According to an article in The Washington Post, as of today at 8:46 PM, there are 45 confirmed child cases of swine flu in New York City and hundreds more suspected. I spoke with a friend in San Diego who said that numerous people are staying home because they are afraid, with their proximity to the Mexican border, that they will have a high likelihood of catching it. Last night I turned on CNN and Roland Martin was going on and on about swine flu. The reality is, however, that the regular flu has killed thousands this year and will continue to kill hundreds each week and, as of tonight, there was not a single reported swine flu death in the U.S.
Unlike much of the country, I haven't yet been scared by the hype, even though it seems to be everywhere I look (I'm brave, I know). So why my momentary swine flu obsession? For some reason, the swine flu maddness got me thinking about education (big surprise there) and how important it is to teach students how to distinguish between facts and well-founded concern and news that sparks mass hysteria and walks a fine line between awareness-spreading and yellow journalism. Further, having a basic understanding of statistics would help students cut through the hype and determine if the national fear-mongering is necessary and whether the massive amounts of time and journalistic energy being devoted to the story are warranted. Of course, it's good to be cautious and to educate oneself about potential health risks. But moments like these are the perfect opportunity to teach students how the media works and instill in them a healthy curiousity and even skepticism about the messages they receive. Again, basic logic and statistical awareness would do so much to forestall the needless hand-wringing. For educators, this is 'teachable' gold.
Note: I must qualify the above because we're only at the beginning of the swine flu phenomenon and I'm going to feel awful if this thing spirals out of control. So, I'm knocking on my wooden dining room table as we speak. But even if, heaven forbid, it does grow into a larger issue, this is still an interesting example of how initial news of the unknown can turn into fear that is rapidly spun out of control. And kids need to know how to categorize this barage of information.
EDIT: As a public service, for those of you who are really concerned about swine flu, a friend pointed us to a site where you can check your symptoms: http://doihavepigflu.com/. Phew.